Kensington Swan's view on aspects of the construction industry

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Monthly Archives: August 2016

Auckland’s population growth has also meant an increase of students enrolled in schools, causing overcrowding. Such an example is Rowandale School in Manurewa which has seen a 30% increase of students since 2014 – an increase of 144 students to its total roll. In order to make space for more students, the school has had…

This blog post was written by James McMillan, a partner at Kensington Swan specialising in insolvency and restructuring. Each year the construction industry is affected by a large number of insolvencies, ranging from the failure of small ‘one man band’ operations to large contractors and principals. The effects of insolvency can be devastating on parties who…

The recent case of South Pacific Fire Protection South Island Alarms Ltd v Safe NZ Ltd serves as a refresher to those familiar with the Construction Contracts Act 2002 payment processes and a good introduction to consultants who will soon fall within the acts purview (from 1 September 2016). The case concerned South Pacific…

Following days of protests, developers of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline halted construction at the North Dakota site on Tuesday. The following day, a North Dakota federal court ordered the protesters to stop blocking the construction work. Several protesters had been charged with disorderly conduct or trespassing at a construction site. Also known as…

The Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No 2) was introduced to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Its purpose is to ensure rental homes in New Zealand meet minimum standards of heating and insulation. The Bill has been read a first time and now sits with the Select Committee. Public submissions to the Select Committee are…

A bill to enable greater oversight of the construction industry in California is a step closer to enactment, after passing a committee phase on Friday 12 August 2016. In June 2015, six students lost their lives and seven others were seriously injured after a fourth floor apartment balcony collapsed during a 21st birthday party. It…

When asking someone to describe the worst thing that’s happened at the Olympics, you may expect the answer to involve our underwhelming men’s sevens performance or this morning’s narrow defeat on the cycling track. On a more serious note, it has been hard to ignore a number of worrying issues in the lead up to…

Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) has continued its unfortunate run of losing every significant court case in recent time; the latest being a summary judgment decision from the Supreme Court in CHH v Minister of Education [2016] NZSC 95. [CHHvMOEOrs (1)] The case related to defective building products produced by CHH (primarily Shadowclad) that have been…

Timaru is welcoming a $42 million development overlooking Caroline Bay. The proposed development will include a six-floor office building incorporating food and beverage tenancies and commercial tenancies, single to three-bedroom apartments and penthouses, and 68 x 4 to 4.5 star hotel rooms. The project will be one of the biggest ever seen in Timaru. It…

Last year we blogged about limitation lessons from Lee v Whangarei District Council [2015] NZHC 2777. Ms Lee’s house was built in 2007 and early 2008. This house was not weathertight on account of defects in the exterior. Proceedings were issued by Ms Lee against the Whangarei District Council on 21 May 2014, on the…